EXCLUSIVE: German punk legends Broilers backed by Electro-Voice

The Broilers, the German oi! band who rank among the most successful punk acts in continental Europe, celebrated the 20th anniversary of their founding with a multi-country tour backed by kit from Electro-Voice.

The 16-concert tour took in venues in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, including major arenas like the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, which has a capacity of over 15,000 (pictured).

“Punk rock is a musical genre that is heavily dependent upon the sound performance – in particular, on the sound pressure levels generated,” Daniel Ecker, managing director of Audio Service Rheinland, who has been the Broilers’ FOH man for the last five years. “The challenge for us was to deliver in every club and in every arena – the former, on occasion, quite small; the latter, invariably very large – the same compromise-free output.”

After "numerous productions with different acts, all with different styles and musical aspirations," Ecker says he is "firmly convinced of the quality and versatility" of Electro-Voice loudspeakers. For the tour's larger venues, system technician Rüdiger Nürnberg deployed the X-Line system as the main PA, (with XLC components supplying side fill or delay), while medium-sized locations "were the exclusive preserve of the XLC".

Nürnberg also comments that an "important contribution to the sound performance" was made by FIR filters. “The X-Line and FIR filters make a virtually unbeatable combination,” he says. “For me, they represent the best system out there. There’s nothing you can’t do with them.”

Audio Service Rheinland deployed its Electro-Voice inventory at a number of open-air festivals over the summer, including the Film Nights in Dresden at the end of June, and has the X-Line and XLC lined up for the Broilers' second tour of the year in autumn.